Perchance to Dream
by Jenna Riedell
Summary: PMD2: A Roselia wakes up on the beach, unable to remember anything except for the fact that she was once a human. A Buizel with self-esteem issues wants to form an exploration team. A Grovyle embarks on a mission to steal the Time Gears while a Dusknoir chases him to the ends of the earth to stop him. And all the while, Darkrai sits back and laughs at the chaos before him.
1. Chapter 1

The Relic Fragment hanging around Buizel's neck does nothing to ease his fears and anxieties – it would have been no different if he'd left it at home altogether. He still can't bring himself to step into Wigglytuff's Guild, no matter how much he paces back and forth before the grate.

Finally, he manages to steel himself and steps onto the grate, taking a deep breath. "Pokémon detected!" cries a shrill voice, and Buizel jumps about a foot into the air.

"Whose footprint?" demands another.

"The footprint is Buizel's!" the first voice answers.

With a shriek, Buizel steps off the grate. Without a doubt, guild members are coming for him now, and there's no guarantee that he'll make it out and away from Wigglytuff's Guild without them spotting him.

When he runs, he doesn't notice the Koffing and the Zubat that follow him.

* * *

Consciousness returns to her slowly. Her face feels weird and cold because of the wind, and a voice calls out to her. "Are you okay?" It's more of a struggle to open her eyes than she'd like to admit. She's lying on cold sand, and she can hear water rushing behind her. "H-Hey…" Suddenly, she's being lifted into the air, and a Buizel stares down at her in concern. "Oh no, this is bad… This is really bad…"

As her strength returns, she fidgets in his arms a bit so that she's sitting in his arms, as opposed to lying down. "Where… Where am I…?"

The Buizel sighs in relief and smiles. "Thank goodness… I was seriously worried about you!" He turns slightly, allowing her to see a vast expanse of sparkling blue water, with bubbles floating lazily in the air. The sky is pink and yellow and orange, and a large sun falls slowly to the water. Before she knows it, she's crying, but she feels happy for some reason. "H-Hey!" the Buizel cries. "What's wrong?" The sudden rush of emotion doesn't fade, but she puts an effort into controlling it nonetheless. She lifts a hand to dry her tears…

… and a rose promptly smacks her in the face. "Wh-What?" She squirms in his arms, trying to get a good look at herself. Somehow, her body is green all over, and the only thing covering her torso is a large leaf. It suddenly occurs to her that she must be rather small for the Buizel to be able to lift her and carry her so easily, because from what she knows, Buizels reach only about up to her knees. And on top of everything, her hands are roses. "Wh-What happened to me?"

"Huh?" the Buizel asks. "What's wrong?"

"I'm supposed to be a human!" she blurts out before she can stop herself, and the fact that she's crying only makes things worse.

"But you look like a totally normal Roselia to me…" the Buizel says.

She stares forlornly down at her new hands. _Did I… really turn into a Roselia? But… how? What was I…? _Her mind hits a wall there, and as she tries to recall what she was doing before ending up unconscious, nothing comes. _Oh no… I can't remember anything…_ This only makes her cry harder.

"H-Hey…" the Buizel says a little awkwardly as he places her on the ground. He practically towers over her, but she can't sense any ill will or malice from him. Hanging from his neck by a black string is a stone with a strange pattern on it – she's sure she's never seen it before in her life, and it has nothing to do with the memory loss. "It'll be okay. Uh… What's your name?"

"Um…" Thankfully, she can at least remember her own name. "Celia. My name is Celia."

The Buizel tilts his head to the side. "Celia, huh? Yeah, that _does_ sound like a human name… And you don't _look_ like a bad Pokémon…" The smile he gives her is so earnest and carefree that she feels like crying again. "I'm Buizel. It's nice to meet you!"

"And my name's Koffing," says another Pokémon as it rams into Buizel from behind. Buizel's stone goes flying, landing a little ways away in the sand. "Well, I do beg your pardon."

"And I'm Zubat!" says Koffing's companion as he swoops down and grabs Buizel's stone by the string. "Now, if you don't mind…"

Buizel does nothing, and it isn't until after Koffing and Zubat are long gone that the reality of the situation sinks in. "No… That's my personal treasure! If I lost that…" He slaps his face with both his hands and squeezes his eyes shut. "No… I'm going to get it back. Celia, will you help me?" It occurs to Celia just how lucky she is that it was Buizel who found her, instead of Koffing and Zubat, and to thank him, she agrees. "R-Really? You'll help me? Th-Thank you! Come on, let's go!"

* * *

The beach cave isn't nearly as colorful as the beach at sunset, but Celia can't bring herself to complain – all the browns, greens, yellows, and blues around her still somehow take her breath away. "We need to be careful," Buizel says. "A lot of the Pokémon in here are really territorial." But the Pokémon she runs into don't appear murderous at all – they're a lot nicer than she expected. Buizel finishes off a Corsola with Sonicboom. Celia's body moves on instinct, and she knocks out a Shellos with Absorb.

And after traversing deeper and deeper into the cave, they finally come to a clearing of water, rocks, and sand. Koffing and Zubat are there, and something tells her that she's seen Pokémon that have done a lot worse. "Uh…" Buizel says uncertainly. "Hey! G-Give it back! That's my personal treasure!"

"Treasure, you say?" Zubat sneers. "Huh… Looks like it _is_ valuable!"

"It could be worth more than we hoped for, I'd say," Koffing says. "We ought to try selling it!"

"N-No!" Buizel protests weakly. His whole body trembles as he takes a fighting stance. "If you won't give it back… I'll take it from you!"

As Koffing and Zubat snicker, Celia taps Buizel with one hand. "I'll take Koffing," she says. "My attacks won't be very strong on either of them, but they'll do more to Koffing, since he's just a poison type instead of a poison _and_ flying type."

Buizel nods. "Good idea. I'll try to be quick so I can help you out." He takes down Zubat with one Water Gun, and, predictably, Celia's Absorb does almost nothing to Koffing. Buizel has to bail her out with a Water Gun of his own. "Give it back," he says again as Koffing and Zubat groan pathetically.

Zubat flings the stone to them, and Celia has to dodge so that it doesn't hit her on the head. "Take it, then!"

"D-Don't think you're so awesome!" Koffing says. "You just got lucky!"

As Koffing and Zubat leave, Buizel practically dives to the ground to pick up his stone, and the look of sheer happiness on his face makes it impossible for Celia not to smile. "My Relic Fragment! I actually got it back!" Celia almost screams when he lifts her into the air and spins her around. "Thank you, Celia! Thank you so much!"

Buizel's glee is downright infectious. _I only helped because I happened to be there_, Celia thinks, _but it feels good all the same._

Buizel doesn't put her down, choosing instead to let her sit on his shoulder. "You shouldn't push yourself too hard," he says. "Well… I guess it's kind of late for that now. But still!"

Celia leans tiredly against him, careful not to prick him with her thorns. "What is that?" she asks, pointing to his stone.

"Oh, this?" Buizel asks, lifting his stone. "It's my Relic Fragment. At least, that's what I call it. I just found it one day. See the pattern? There _has_ to be some significance to it, and I'm going to find out what it is! This Relic Fragment _must_ be the key to some legendary place, where you can find ancient treasure!"

"Hm…" Celia straightens up a bit to get a better look at the Relic Fragment. "I think you're right. Usually, patterns like that mean _something_. It would be weird if that didn't mean anything."

"So you agree, then!" Buizel says cheerfully. "That's why I want to join an exploration team, but… I didn't even have the guts to become an apprentice." By now they're out of the cave, and it's dark outside, with stars shining in the sky. "Are you okay?"

"H-Huh?" Celia realizes with a sinking feeling that she's crying again, and she mentally kicks herself because she's done enough crying for one day, and she shouldn't be getting so emotional so easily. "I-I'm okay… The sky's just really pretty."

Buizel stares up and smiles. "Yeah, it is… Say, Celia… How _did_ you end up unconscious on the beach?"

Nothing comes – not even the tiniest whisper of a memory. "I don't know… I can't remember anything…"

"And you don't have anywhere to go, right?" Buizel asks a bit worriedly. Celia shakes her head. "Um… Can I ask a big favor? Would you be willing to… form an exploration team with me? I mean, we did so well against Koffing and Zubat, so I just thought…"

Celia panics. She doesn't know what an exploration team even is. She's barely known Buizel for an hour. She doesn't know what she is or where she came from, and Buizel still trusts her enough to recruit her. "I-I… I guess?"

"Really? You'll do it?" Buizel looks downright ecstatic. "Yes! Thank you!" Celia smiles uneasily in return. "First, we need to sign up as apprentices at Wigglytuff's guild. They'll train us, and feed us, and give us a place to stay, and everything!" It's strange how one decision that should affect the rest of her life barely fazes her at all. "Let's give it our all, Celia!"

Celia smiles more easily and nods. "Okay!"

* * *

Wigglytuff's Guild is an imposing building that looks – whether ironically or unironically, Celia can't tell – like a Wigglytuff, with flaming torches on either side, metal bars covering the entrance, and a circular metal grate in front. "So…" Buizel says as he puts her down. "Here we are. Welcome to Wigglytuff's Guild. We need to register and train here before we can become our own exploration team." He squeezes his eyes shut and takes a deep breath. "Here goes…" And with that, he steps onto the grate.

"Pokémon detected!" cries a shrill voice, and Buizel jumps about a foot into the air.

"Whose footprint?" demands another.

"The footprint is Buizel's!" the first voice answers.

Buizel is visibly trembling. "It's okay…" he says shakily to himself. "I can do this…"

"You may ENTER!" the second voice from under the grate says. "Someone's with you! So get that stranger to stand up THERE!"

Buizel steps off the grate hesitantly. "Come on, Celia…" He holds her red hand as she steps onto the grate so that her feet don't fall through the holes.

"Pokémon detected!" cries the first voice.

"Whose footprint?" demands the second.

"The footprint is…" the first voice starts to answer. "Um…"

"What's the matter?" the second voice yells. "Sentry! What's wrong, sentry Diglett?"

"Um…" Diglett mumbles. "The footprint is… maybe Roselia's!"

"What?" the second voice bellows. "MAYBE?"

"B-But it's not a footprint that you usually see around here!"

"Isn't checking the footprints of visiting Pokémon your JOB, Diglett?"

"Y-Yes, but I don't know what I don't know!"

"Wh-What's going on?" Celia asks Buizel hesitantly.

"Sorry to make you WAIT," bellows Diglett's companion. "You don't seem like a bad Pokémon… You may ENTER!" The bars blocking the entrance rise, and Celia and Buizel sighs in relief.

"Okay, first barrier passed…" Buizel says. "Let's go, Celia. Um… Is it okay if I hold your hand?"

* * *

The guild is underground, but it's so bright inside that Celia can't even tell. There are Pokémon everywhere – a Sunflora, a Bidoof, a Swellow, a Seedot – and not a single one looks hostile.

"Excuse me!" squaks a bird Pokémon that flies over to them. "It was you two that just came in, correct?"

Celia does her best to not look pathetic while hiding behind Buizel. "Y-Yes!" her companion answers.

"I'm Chatot!" says the bird Pokémon. "I am Guildmaster Wigglytuff's right-hand Pokémon! Now, shoo! Leave the premises! We have no need for salespeople or silly surveys!"

"Wait, we're not…" Celia says quietly.

"Th-That's not why we're here!" Buizel explains. "We want to form an exploration team!"

"Forgive me, but have you seen the hoards of Pokémon that run away from our rigorous training?" Chatot asks.

"Well, if it's that difficult…" Buizel says slowly.

"Oh, did I say rigorous?" Chatot stammers. "N-No, no, no, that's not true at all! Our training is very easy, in fact! As easy as can be!"

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Celia whispers to Buizel.

"Right this way, please!" Chatot says, flying toward one of the ladders at the corner of the room. "Chop chop! Time for your registration!" He leads them down the ladder and into a room with a Wigglytuff facing the back wall. Clearing his throat, he hops forward. "Guildmaster! I present to you two Pokémon who wish to join our guild as apprentices."

Celia lets out a shriek when Wigglytuff whirls around with a giant grin on his face. "Hiya! You want to form an exploration team? First, you need a team name!"

"Oh crap, I forgot!" Buizel says. "Uh… Any ideas, Celia?"

"I-I don't know!" Celia squeaks, mentally cursing Buizel for putting her on the spot. "Team… uh… Awesome? I don't know…"

"Team Awesome it is, then!" Wigglytuff says excitedly.

"W-Wait!" Buizel protests.

"No take-backs!" Chatot says with an infuriating grin.

"B-But Team Awesome is _so lame_," Buizel moans.

"It's not like you had any better ideas!" Celia snaps.

"YOOM-TAH!" Wigglytuff yells. "Congratulations, Team Awesome! From now on, you're an official exploration team!" He skips to one of the chests in the room and pulls out a yellow satchel. "I present you with this commemoration!"

"Th-Thank you!" Buizel says, taking the satchel from Wigglytuff. "We'll do our best!"

* * *

Their room is a circular area with one window and two grassy beds, with vines snaking down from the ceiling and weeds sprouting up from the ground. The bed is the most comfortable one Celia's had in her entire life, but she still can't get to sleep, somehow. "Hey, Celia," Buizel whispers, turning onto his side to face her. "Are you still awake?"

"Yeah," Celia whispers back, scooting as close to him as possible without falling off her bed altogether.

"I'm so glad I finally made it here," Buizel says with a grin. "I thought Wigglytuff would be scary, but he's seems nice."

"He is," Celia agrees. She sighs as she rolls onto her back. "Thanks, Buizel."

"For what?"

"For… everything."

Buizel rolls onto his back as well and sighs contentedly. "Yeah… Good night, Celia."

And though he falls asleep soon afterwards, the questions racing through her mind don't quiet down. _Who am I? How did I get here? What happened to me?_

* * *

_So… this is more me practicing writing in present tense than actually writing a story for the sake of writing a story. I got bored of Persona, so YAY POKÉMON MYSTERY DUNGEON! Explorers of Sky is one of my favorite games EVER, and don't shoot me, but I kind of like it more than a lot of main series games. The last time I played (which was a while ago, so almost everything that goes on in this comes from Youtube Let's Plays), my player character was a female Eevee, and my partner was a male Riolu, but to spice things up, I've decided to make the player character and partner Pokémon that aren't really options in the game._

_I'm going to try and work the Darkrai/Cresselia plot into this and not make it just a post-game thing. _

_PLEASE REVIEW!_


	2. Chapter 2

Celia wakes to a voice screaming so loudly, the whole room is shaking. "HEY! HEY THERE! RISE AND SHINE!" Her head is pounding, and she feels groggy – it's like she never fell asleep in the first place. With a pathetic whimper, she turns her back to Buizel, bringing her hands up to where her ears would have been if she were still human.

(_Do Roselias even have ears?_ she wonders. _Then how can I hear?_)

"Why are you still ASLEEP?" the offending voice booms. "WAKE UP!"

"Why…" Buizel moans, stirring.

"C'mon!" their morning visitor yells. "Snap out of it!"

Celia sits up, pressing one hand to her head. The morning light coming through the window is so bright, it hurts to open her eyes. "Wh-What do you want?" she somehow manages to say through the pounding headache and the overwhelming disorientation.

"I'm Loudred!" the Pokémon by the door says. "I'm a fellow apprentice! MOVE IT, ROOKIES! If you're late for our morning briefing, you'll be SORRY!" Loudred stomps out of the room, leaving Buizel and Celia to come to their senses.

Buizel groans as he hauls himself into a sitting position, smiling weakly at Celia. "Good morning, Celia…"

Celia smiles faintly in return. "Good morning."

"How are you feeling?" Buizel asks. "Do you remember anything?"

She exhales slowly and closes her eyes, pushing back to when she and Buizel fought Koffing and Zubat, back to when Koffing and Zubat stole Buizel's Relic Fragment in the first place, back to when she first woke up on the beach, and everything was so _beautiful_ that she just started crying right then and there… but nothing before that. Her mind hits a wall there.

Buizel picks up on her unease surprisingly quickly. "Oh… That's okay. I'm sure it'll all come back to you soon enough." She sighs, and he takes her hands in his. "Come on. We'll be going to all sorts of places as an exploration team! I'm sure _something_ might give you back some memories!" He swings her arms back and forth gently, just smiling at her, and it isn't until Loudred screams at them once more that the scramble to the meeting place.

"Let us conduct our morning address," Chatot says shortly after they arrive. "Guildmaster! The guild is in full attendance!" Wigglytuff waddles out of his office… but all that comes from him is snores. "Guildmaster?" The scariest part is that Wigglytuff's eyes are still open, and as much as Celia wants to hide behind Buizel, she can't, because she and the rest of the apprentices are standing in two uniform lines, and she's in the front line. "N-Now apprentices!" Chatot says, clearing his throat. "Let's not forget our morning cheers! All together now!"

Celia looks confusedly at Buizel, who simply shrugs at her. "One!" yells the rest of the guild members. "Don't shirk work! Two! Run away and pay! Three! Smiles go for miles!"

"Okay, Pokémon," Chatot says. "Get to work!" There's a collective shout of cheer as the rest of the apprentices scatter, and Wigglytuff retreats into his office. "You two, come with me." He leads them down the ladder, to a bulletin board. He flies up, peering at the various papers posted on the bulletin board and frowning. "Let's see… Aha! This will do!" He plucks one sheet of paper off the board and drops it into Buizel's outstretched hands.

Buizel has to flip the paper over a few times to make sure he's looking at the right side. "Let's see…" He bends down a little so that Celia can see the paper as well. The request is from a Spoik, who's apparently lost the pearl that normally sits a top his head "Wait a minute…" Buizel grumbles. "We're going to fetch an item that someone dropped?"

"But isn't that really dangerous?" Celia asks. "If a Spoink loses its pearl… Buizel, this is really important!"

"Well, Mr. Buizel?" Chatot says expectantly, smirking ever so slightly. "You heard your partner."

* * *

They reach the bluff easily enough – a place of blues and browns – and Celia can't be more thankful the numerous Lileeps, Anoriths, and Shelloses around, because she can finally fight on her own, without relying entirely on Buizel like she did in the fight against Koffing and Zubat. It's a fairly simple, straightforward mission – they find the missing pearl easily, and there's no Koffing or Zubat there to stop them.

"So Celia," Buizel says as they head back to the guild together. "What did you mean when you said it was really dangerous that Spoink lost his pearl?"

"Spoink can't use his psychic powers without his pearl," Celia replies. "You said a lot of bad Pokémon have been showing up lately, right? Spoink can't defend himself if he doesn't have his pearl."

"Oh…" Buizel says slowly. "Well… It could be worse."

They walk in comfortable silence for a bit – comfortable on Celia's part, at least, but Buizel is fidgeting so much that she can't help but wonder how calm he is at the moment. "Buizel? Why is all these bad Pokémon showing up such a big deal?"

Her companion stops dead in his tracks. "It's not a big deal! It's a _huge_ deal!"

"But there's always going to be bad Pokémon _somewhere_," Celia points out. "So what is it about now that's—"

"It's because time's going all out of whack!" Buizel explains.

And at that moment, everything comes to a sickening halt. "Wh-What?"

"I'm not sure about the details…" He scratches the back of his head. "Basically, the flow of time is getting all messed up. And… because of that, more and more bad Pokémon are appearing. That's all it is, really."

Her heart's racing, and for a long moment, she forgets to breathe. "Oh…" The silence that lapses between them quickly becomes heavy and oppressive. Everything feels wrong. There should be someone here with her – someone who's not Buizel. But whenever she starts thinking over who that _someone_ could be, her head starts to hurt.

She doesn't realize she's lagging until she sees Buizel standing several steps in front of her looking at her worriedly. "Are you okay?" he asks as soon as she catches up to him.

"Y-Yeah," Celia replies shakily. "I'm okay." But she's crying again – and, come to think of it, she's been doing that a lot, and it doesn't feel wrong, so it's maybe something that was there before she became a Pokémon and lost her memory.

Buizel grows tense. "Did you remember something?"

His concern makes her feel warm inside, and she can't help but laugh as she dries her tears (but her hands are so comically large that it's more difficult than it should be). "Only that I wasn't any less of a crybaby when I was human."

He smiles as he picks her up and places her on his shoulder – and he does that a lot, but she can't bring herself to complain. "You're not a crybaby, Celia," he says simply. It's empty words – it's so obvious that he's just trying to make her feel better – but Celia feels comforted all the same.

She leans against him and inhales deeply. The wind feels good, and the air smells nice. The world is colorful and vibrant and beautiful. That's all she'll ever need. "Thanks, Buizel," she says, and means it.

* * *

"All right, then!" Bidoof says after giving Celia and Buizel a tour of the town. "Come find me when you're ready to go."

"Thanks, Bidoof!" Buizel says excitedly. "Let's go, Celia! I'm sure we can get a lot done with…" He reaches into the satchel and pulls out a tiny clump of bills. "… two hundred Pokédollars…"

"Are you still mad about what happened yesterday?" Celia asks, even though she probably knows the answer.

"We could have been _rich_!" Buizel rants. "Spoink gave us two thousand Pokédollars! And all _we_ get is…"

"It's okay," Celia says. "The more missions we do, the more money we'll get. We just have to be patient."

Buizel smiles. "Yeah, you're right. Anyway, let's go to Kecleon Market. Before we head back to the guild, a visit to Kecleon Market is a must." He leads Celia to a stand run by two Kecleons – a normal green one, and a purple one. "Can we get some Oran berries, please?" Buizel asks.

"Sure thing!" the green Kecleon says. Buizel hands over some bills, and Kecleon hands over a brown bag that Buizel quickly shoves into the satchel. "Thanks. Come again."

"All right," Buizel says. "Now let's go find Bidoof so we can—"

"Misters Kecleon!" Two blue Pokémon run up to the stand. One of them is bigger than Celia, but she can somehow tell that both of them are much younger than her.

"Ah, little Marill and Azurill!" the green Kecleon greets. "Welcome, my young friends!"

"Hello," Azurill, the smaller Pokémon says shyly. "My I buy an apple?"

"Most certainly," Kecleon replies as he hands over a brown bag in exchange for the bills Marill gives him.

"Thank you, Misters Kecleon!" Marill says cheerfully as he and Azurill leave the stand.

Kecleon sighs contentedly. "You see, those delightful children are brothers," he says to Buizel and Celia. "Lately, their poor mother has fallen sick, so those youngsters come and do the shopping for her."

"Misters Kecleon!" Marill calls as he runs back to the stand.

"There was an extra apple!" Azurill says.

"We didn't pay for this many," Marill finishes.

"Oh yes," Kecleon says. "That, young friends, is a gift from me and my brother. Please, share it among yourselves, and do enjoy."

"Really?" Marill asks excitedly.

"Yay!" Azurill cheers. "Thank you, Mr. Kecleon and Mr. Kecleon!"

"Oh, not to worry, my friends," Kecleon replies. "Do take care on your way home."

Marill leaves again, with Azurill following him, but then the smaller Pokémon trips and falls, and an apple rolls out of the bag he's holding. The apple isn't too far from Celia, so she picks it up and hands it to him. "Here you go," she says, smiling.

"Th-Thank you, Miss!" Azurill says. "We're sorry to bother you."

Azurill's hands brush against her roses as he takes the apples from her. And then, her vision darkens and the world spins. _Huh? Wh-What was that? _Her head feels very, very light, and her stomach is twisting into knots. _Wh-What's going on? _And then, her vision goes black. A single beam of light zooms across and expands, so that the black in her vision is replaced with white.

It's like she's in another place entirely, and her vision goes black again. "H-Help!" a child's voice cries.

Her vision goes white once more, and, all of a sudden, she's back at Kecleon Market, with Buizel next to her and Azurill in front of her. Azurill takes the apple from her and puts it back in his bag, and Buizel's smiling at him. Celia stares down at her hands, struggling to breathe. "Is something the matter?" Azurill asks her.

"Hey, Azurill!" Marill calls from further down the street. "What's going on? Hurry home!"

"Coming!" Azurill shouts. "Thank you, Miss Roselia!" he says again before he goes to join his brother.

As soon as he leaves, she collapses to her knees. "Celia, what's wrong?" Buizel asks worriedly. "Are you okay?"

"Did you…" she starts, wrapping her arms around herself. "Did you hear someone shout for help just now?"

"No…" Buizel answers slowly.

"I didn't hear anything out of the ordinary," the green Kecleon says.

"I didn't hear anything odd, either," the purple Kecleon adds.

"See?" Buizel says, smiling. "I'm sure you were just imagining it, Celia."

_But I could swear I heard…_ She tries to remember the scream. It's a bit fuzzy now, but it comes quickly, and it sounds a lot like… _That was Azurill! _

"Are you sure you're okay, Celia?" Buizel asks concernedly. "You're shaking like crazy!"

"Y-Yeah…" Celia answers shakily. "I'm okay. Let's go find Bidoof, okay?"

But Buizel doesn't look convinced. "Okay… Thank you, Kecleon brothers!"

But on their way back to the guild, they see Marill and Azurill again – and they're talking to a yellow Pokémon much bigger and older than them. "Yay!" Azurill says excitedly.

"Thank you!" Marill says.

"Please, it's nothing," their companion says smoothly.

"Hi Marill!" Buizel greets excitedly. "Hi Azurill! What's going on?"

"Oh, Mr. Buizel and Miss Roselia!" Azurill says. "Hi!"

"Some time ago, we lost something important to us," Marill explains. "Mr. Drowzee says he may have seen it somewhere! He even offered to help us look for it!"

"Thank you, Mr. Drowzee!" Azurill says cheerfully.

"Oh, please," Drowzee says. "I'd have a cold heart to ignore kids in need. I can't turn a blind eye! Let's be on our way to begin our search." He bumps into Celia as he leaves with Marill and Azurill. "Excuse me."

And then it happens again. A wave of dizziness crashes into her, only this time, it's so much worse. She can't even hear what Buizel's saying because it takes everything she has to remain standing at all.

And then she can see Azurill and Drowzee together in something like a cave. "If you keep being difficult, it will mean big trouble for you!" Drowzee threatens Azurill.

"H-Help!" Azurill shouts.

And then she's back in Treasure Town, and Buizel's smiling wistfully after Marill, Azurill and Drowzee. "I hope they find whatever it is they're looking for." Celia shivers. "Huh? Celia, are you okay?" She wraps her arms around herself and shakes her head. "Oh no… Is it your memories? Are they returning? Wait, that would be a good thing…"

"N-No, it's not that…" she says shakily. "I-I just…" She takes a deep breath. She can trust Buizel; if anything, he's the only person she can trust at all. "I feel really dizzy right now… a-and I think I saw Azurill being threatened by Drowzee." She's so ready for him to not believe her.

And, as it turns out, she's right. "Well…" Buizel says slowly. "It's not that I don't trust you, Celia, but… Drowzee seemed so nice! He wouldn't do something like that!" He sighs and picks her up. "Maybe we should ask Chatot for the day off."

"No, I'm fine," Celia tells him.

"But if you keep having dizzy spells, then you're obviously not fine!" he insists. He refuses to put her down, even after they return to the guild.

Sure enough, Bidoof is there by one of the bulletin boards. "There you are!" he greets cheerfully. "Are you ready? They're updating the board right now, so I'll find you someone good, yup yup!"

"Actually, Bidoof…" Buizel says slowly. "Celia isn't feeling too well, so I think we'll—" Suddenly, the board in front of them flips over, and right at the top is… "Wait a minute!"

"See?" Celia yells, smacking him on the head with a rose. "I _told_ you! We need to go, now!"

"Y-You're right!" Buizel yelps. "Azurill could be in danger!"

Buizel's still carrying Celia, but he's running so quickly that she doesn't think she'd be able to keep up with him on foot. They run into Marill shortly after exiting the guild. "Mr. Buizel! Miss Roselia!" the younger Pokémon yells. "You have to help! W-We all went looking for our lost item together… a-and then I wound up all alone when Mr. Drowzee went somewhere with Azurill! I called and called, but they didn't come back!"

"Where did they go?" Celia asks quickly.

"Th-This way!" Marill says. "Follow me!" He leads them to a mountainous area, with jagged rocks and sand everywhere.

"Does this look about right, Celia?" Buizel asks as he puts her down.

"I-I think so," she replies shakily.

"Marill, go back to town where it's safe," Buizel instructs the younger Pokémon. "Stay with the Kecleon brothers. They'll keep you safe."

"O-Okay…" Marill says shakily, sniffling a little.

"We'll find Azurill," Celia tells him. "Don't worry." And with that, she and Buizel dash into the mountain.

* * *

They finally catch up to Drowzee and Azurill by a rather small hole in the opposite wall at the top of the mountain. Buizel looks ready to charge in and demand answers, but Celia stops him with one hand. "Wait," she whispers, and though she doesn't know how long she's planning to stand back, Buizel doesn't ask any questions.

"Excuse me, Mr. Drowzee," Azurill says. "Could you show me where my item is now?"

Drowzee chuckles. "Sorry, kiddo. Your lost item? It's not here, that's for sure."

At that, Azurill panics. "M-My big brother… H-He's following us, isn't he? He's coming, right?"

"Nope," Drowzee says bluntly. "Your big brother's not coming. You see, I _would_ help you find your precious item, but there's something that _I _need to find as well… and I need _your_ help."

"Oh…" Azurill sighs. "Well, why didn't you say so, Mr. Drowzee? Of course I'll help you!"

"Thank you, young one," Drowzee says, and Celia doesn't like the smirk on his face one bit. "Do you see that hole?" He points to the back wall. "Well, there's a rumor that there's a trove of treasure inside there! But as you can see, I'm too big to fit into that hole."

Azurill's face falls. "Treasure? I don't know, Mr. Drowzee… I need to as my brother if it's okay first."

Drowzee shakes his head, and Celia has to stand on Buizel's feet so that he doesn't just burst in. "Ah, but you see… I can't let you do that. You _will_ help me, won't you, Azurill?"

Azurill bursts into tears, letting out a miserable wail. "I want my big brother!" He tries to run away, but Drowzee blocks his path.

Drowzee looks furious. "I said I'd take you home when you're done, didn't I? If you keep being difficult, it will mean big trouble for you!"

"H-Help!" Azurill screams, matching the one Celia heard before.

Celia steps into the clearing loudly enough for Drowzee to hear her. "Wait!"

Drowzee turns to regard her, smiling thinly. "Ah, if it isn't dear Roselia. And Buizel, of course."

"You want someone to go in that hole for you?" Celia asks, pointing to the back wall. "I think I might be able to fit in there."

"Celia, what are you doing?" Buizel shouts. "We need to catch this guy!"

But they have no way of knowing how strong Drowzee is; they can't take any chances. Celia makes her way to the back wall and examines the hole. It'll be a tight fit, but she'll be able to fit for sure. She takes a deep breath so that her voice doesn't shake. "See? I'll be able to fit in here. So let Azurill go, and I'll get your treasure for you."

"Celia—" Buizel starts.

"I see…" Drowzee says slowly. "Well, I suppose it would be easier if you went in there without a fuss than if this _rat_ went kicking and screaming."

"So you agree?" Celia asks. "So let him go."

"You bring the treasure back here first," Drowzee shoots back.

"Let Azurill go first," she says firmly, "or there's no deal."

Drowzee's smirk widens as he shoves Azurill toward the door from where Celia and Buizel came. "Fine. Get out."

"Buizel, can you take him back to town?" Celia asks in a deceptively calm voice.

Buizel shakes his head, and she wants to sigh. "I'm not leaving you here alone with _him_."

"I-I'll stay until Miss Roselia comes back, Mr. Buizel," Azurill says in a small voice. "That way, you can stay."

"All right, then," Celia says, exhaling slowly. "I'm going in." She catches Buizel's eye briefly, but it's obvious that he doesn't understand what she's trying to do.

And unfortunately, Drowzee does. The second she turns her back to him, something heavy and oppressive starts crushing her. It's nothing tangible, so it has to be a psychic-type move. Her head is in a whirl, and she can't breathe; she feels like she's drowning. And all the while, Drowzee's laughing ."Did you really think such a cheap trick would fool me?" he sneers. "Though I can't say I expected _you _to pull something so low."

"Wh-What?" Buizel gasps. "B-But… Celia, what's going on?"

"N-Never mind that!" she somehow manages to say. She can stand, but her legs are shaking from Drowzee's previous attack. "We need to capture him, now!"

"R-Right!" Buizel says before unleashing a Water Gun onto Drowzee. Drowzee's arms are swinging everywhere, and Buizel does his best to shield Celia from any psychic attacks, but after a couple more hit her, she's almost spent.

Then Drowzee turns his attention to Buizel. He wiggles his fingers hypnotically, smirking. Celia frowns. _Okay, Drowzees are psychic-types, but they're most known for… _Eating dreams. And for that, they have to put their victims to sleep – just like Drowzee is trying to do to Buizel now. "No!" she shrieks as she throws herself in front of Buizel just as Drowzee finishes his attack.

And then it's impossible to keep her eyes open.

* * *

In her dreams, there's someone there with her. It's not anyone she knows – she usually doesn't feel this way around Buizel and…

_… and who? _If there was any doubt that there was someone else, before Buizel, there's none now.

But the presence in her dream… despite how alien it feels, it's warm and comforting all the same – like a soft blanket. Her companion says something, but speaks too quietly for Celia to hear.

And then, slowly, the dream ends, and she wakes up to the ceiling of her new home. "You're awake!" she hears Buizel say.

She turns her head slightly to the side, and sure enough, he's there, sitting in the gap between their beds with food piled next to him. "Buizel…"

He sighs in relief. "Oh, thank goodness! I was so worried about you?"

She feels groggy and sluggish, and her head hurts so much that she wants to cry. "Wh-What happened to me?"

His face falls. "Well, uh… You got hit by Drowzee's Hypnosis, a-and then you fell asleep. You got hit by a lot of psychic attacks, so… it's like your mind's injured. Sort of. But Chatot thinks you'll be fine by tomorrow, so you don't have to take a day off or anything."

The events of the day come back in a rush, and Celia bolts upright. "Azurill! Is he okay? What happened?" But the dizziness and nausea that follow make her collapse back into her bed.

"H-Hey, you shouldn't get up so quickly like that!" Buizel warns her. "Azurill's fine. I defeated Drowzee after he put you to sleep, and then Officer Magnezone took him away."

"Did we get paid?" she whispers tiredly.

"Yeah!" Buizel answered. "But… it was only three hundred Pokédollars. Out of three thousand." He sighs heavily. "That's just how it goes, I guess…"

When she feels a little better, she sits up gingerly. "I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help."

"No, you were a huge help!" Buizel says automatically. "You knew from beforehand that Azurill was in trouble! Um… How did you know that anyway?"

That strange vision of Azurill's kidnapping had worn her out – but come to think of it, hadn't she received another vision like that, though only of Azurill's scream? _No wonder I'm so exhausted… But Azurill's kidnapping… It happened in the future! Then why was I able to see it?_ Her stomach growls then, effectively cutting through the tension.

"Oh yeah!" Buizel said. "You're probably really hungry, right? Chatot said we could eat here!"

It starts raining as they finish up their meal, and the sound of it makes Celia feel tense. When the thunder and lightning start, she's crying before she knows it. "Hey…" Buizel says. "Don't worry. It's all outside, so it won't hurt us."

But Buizel's words don't calm her down at all. She wants… she doesn't know what she wants, actually. She can't say she wants to go home, because she doesn't know where _home_ is. She can't say she wants that other someone besides Buizel, because she doesn't know who that other someone is (and she has a vague feeling that he wouldn't be much help anyway). Those strange dizzy spells and daydreams scare her more than anything. And at that moment, she feels so lost and alone, despite the fact that Buizel's there with her, that all she can do is cry harder.

And then Buizel… it's not like he's hugging her, exactly, but he's definitely holding her in some way that makes her feel a little more secure. "Hey, can I ask you something?" It's an obvious ploy to distract her from the storm, but she goes along with it anyway. "What were you trying to do by getting that treasure Drowzee wanted?"

It takes a while for everything to come back to her. "Oh… Um… I just wanted to get Azurill out of there. It looked like Drowzee wanted that treasure more than he wanted to make trouble for Azurill, so I thought he'd leave him alone if he got someone else to get that treasure for him."

"And you were right!" Buizel says. "But he still… Uh… What were you trying to do anyway?"

"I was going to head into that hole, and while Drowzee was watching me to make sure I wasn't doing anything, you were going to attack him from behind."

"There's no way I could've picked up on that! I thought you seriously wanted to help Drowzee!" Buizel sighs. "But why, though? We could've just fought him head on and saved Azurill."

"Yeah, and we did," Celia retorts, "but it's easier on us if we can get out of fighting like that, you know?"

"But… you seriously wanted to lie to him like that?"

"It's better than what he was trying to do."

"It's still bad, though!"

Celia sighs harshly. "I'm sorry. I swear, I'm not a bad person. Pokémon. You know what I mean."

"I don't think you are, either," Buizel says, "but if you do bad things like that…"

"I'd rather not fight like we did today unless I absolutely have to," Celia admitted. "You might be able to handle it but right now, I can't." _I'm not used to being a Pokémon like you are. I'm not as strong as you, either…_

It's clear that they're not going to come to a consensus, so Buizel promptly changes the subject. "You know what I think? That dream you had, where you saw Azurill getting kidnapped by Drowzee? Well… maybe it has something to do with why you're here! I mean, I don't know any Roselias who can predict the future, or any humans who turned into Pokémon, so… Well, I guess those two could be unrelated, too… But…"

But those strange dreams and dizzy spells… They didn't feel entirely unfamiliar, even though they were entirely unpleasant. "Maybe I got those dreams when I was a human, too…" she says quietly. As usual, nothing comes when she tries to remember. "I hate this…"

"Don't worry," Buizel says. "I'm sure it'll all come back to you sooner or later. For now, just try to remember a little bit at a time." She yawns and leans into him a little. "Are you getting sleepy, Celia?" He laughs a little. "Sorry. I thought you'd be wide awake, since Drowzee put you to sleep. Then again, a lot _did_ happen today…"

When she falls asleep, she barely feels it – all she knows is that Buizel's arms are still around her.

* * *

_So this whole thing… is writing practice for me. I'm trying to get the hang of writing in present tense, so I'm writing a whole, multi-chaptered thing in present tense, instead of just a oneshot. Hence… this. I'm also trying to experiment with having a crybaby of a protagonist – specifically, to what lengths the protagonist can go before being deemed annoying. Think about it! Usually, when you see a girl crying a lot in a show or movie or something, you think of her as annoying, right? But a lot of people cry a lot, and not always for an apparent reason. I personally cry when I get angry enough, and there's literally nothing I can do to stop it._

_And another note about Celia: I tried to convey this in this chapter, but, despite how well Celia and Buizel get along, there's one key difference between them. Buizel is idealistic and oftentimes naïve, and as such, he tries to do everything the noble, honorable way. Celia, on the other hand, has no problem fighting dirty – hence her trying to trick Drowzee in this chapter. If you've finished the game, you'll know why she's like this – and it's not a conscious thing on her part._

_So yeah. Tell me how you're enjoying (or not enjoying) the writing style, and tell me how annoying you think Celia is (if she is at all). And with that, please review!_


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